Report and highlights as Phil Foden comes off the bench to earn Man City a draw at West Ham, who led at half-time thanks to Michail Antonio's wonderful overhead kick
Saturday 24 October 2020 21:16, UK
Phil Foden came off the bench to earn Man City a 1-1 draw at West Ham, cancelling out Michail Antonio's spectacular first-half opener.
Antonio opened the scoring after 18 minutes with a wonderful overhead kick, given after a check for handball against Tomas Soucek.
However, the visitors levelled thanks to Foden's well-taken strike six minutes into the second half, with the midfielder replacing Sergio Aguero at half-time.
As a result, both sides miss out on the chance to move into the top four, with each now on eight points.
Both teams went into this lunch-time clash buoyed by impressive league displays last weekend, meaning the two managers opted for unchanged line-ups - the first time in 172 games and three years for City boss Pep Guardiola.
But similar to against Porto in the Champions League in midweek, despite dominating the early possession, City soon found themselves trailing after a moment of brilliance from Antonio.
Czech Republic internationals Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal exchanged passes in a tight space near the right touchline, before the former swung in a cross from which Antonio found the net with an instinctive bicycle kick.
City protested that Soucek had handled the ball in the buildup, but Peter Bankes back at Stockley Park decided it was accidental and allowed the goal to stand, meaning Antonio - who was later forced off with injury - has now scored 11 goals in 15 top-flight appearances since the Premier League restarted on June 17, with only Harry Kane (12) managing more.
Guardiola sprung a surprise at the break by introducing Foden for Aguero, who has only just returned from a knee injury. The change paid dividends as the England international scored his third goal of the season.
The impressive Joao Cancelo used his pace to escape down the left, before finding the unmarked Foden eight yards out, with the midfielder cleverly swivelling and turning, before firing a low shot past Fabianski at his near post.
However, despite incessant City pressure, a combination of poor finishing, luck and alert keeping by Fabianski - who denied both Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez late on - preserved West Ham's well-earned point.
There is no doubt the full back has taken time to settle at City following his big-money move from Juventus in the summer of 2019, but judging by his impressive, all-action display at the London Stadium, the 27-year-old has now nailed down his place in the first team.
True, the Portugal international's defensive qualities were hardly threatened by West Ham, meaning he instead had full license to raid forward at every opportunity, and boy did he do that.
Cancelo had given the hosts several warnings in the first half with a series of raids down the left, and it was little surprise when the player again got free down that flank at the start of the second period to set up Foden's equaliser.
The only surprise, really, was that Cancelo did not create more goals after that, but either way, expect to see him on the left of City's defence for the rest of this season.
David Moyes: "There's no doubt the confidence the players have taken (from recent matches). The way they have been playing and have trained, they've been very good.
"I'm really pleased. It was tough in the last 20, 30 minutes, but we were still a threat. When we lost Michail then it changed slightly, but overall I'm really pleased we took a point from the game.
"I don't think he (Antonio) is too bad. I think he's feeling it is a bit of a cramp he has got. I hope, because he is a key figure for us and does a great job.
"It was a great goal and he has become really important to the team here."
Pep Guardiola: "As always, he [Foden] gave us something extra. We didn't play badly except the last 10 minutes of the first half.
"In the second half they defended so deep, and then we had chances at the end to score and we could not convert."
West Ham take on Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday October 31 (5.30pm), in a match you can see live on Sky Sports.
City, meanwhile, face Marseille at the Stade Velodrome in the Champions League on Tuesday (8pm), before they return to league action against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane next Saturday (12.30pm).
